Display apparatus



Aug. 4, 1942. L.. CARTER ET AL 2,291,877

DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed Aug. 2s, 1959 2 sheets-sheet 1 [VA/v L. CA/QTEQGUY W. DA V/S Y v INVENToRs.

A TroRNEY.

Aug. 4, 1942.

l. L. CARTER ETAL DISPLAY APPARATUS Filed Aug. 28, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2IVA/v L. Cla/em@ GUY w. DA v/s ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 4, 1942 YTENT orgies DISPLAY APPARATUS Ivan L. Carter andGuy W. Davis, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application August 28, 1939, Serial No. 292,342

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in display apparatus, and has forits principal object the provision of a very compact and portable devicefor window display and other purposes, which shall be new, useful, andeconomical, simple of construction, attractive in ap-pearance, easy toassemble and disassemble, and of such design as to occupy a minimum ofspace when 1n use as well as when stored away due to*y non-use.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a device whichshall have great value in the field of window display, and which shallat the same time be equally well adapted for household service as awardrobe fixture or the like.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a wardrobe xture ordisplay device which shall have great flexibility of use, that is tosay,

an apparatus which shall be adapted to a wide variety of uses in variousfields of display without necessitating duplicate fixtures or differenttypes of display devices for each specific need.

A further object is the device which shall serve to attractively displaya large variety of different objects within a very limited display areaso as to conserve window or other display space and without unduecrowding of the articles displayed.

A still further object is the provision of an inexpensive, simplyconstructed device for display and other purposes, which shall be soconstructed that the article or articles mounted thereon may be readilypresented to view at any desired angle so that such articles may appearin their most natural fashion or with the utmost degree ofattractiveness to the eye of a prospective purchaser.

Still another` object is to provide a wardrobe xture which willsatisfactorily support headgear, particularly mens and womens hats orthe like, Which iixture may be set up in places ordi- -narily consideredtoo small or too restricted for the accommodation of such articles.

A further object is to provide a portable, lightweight device of thegeneral character hereinbefore referred to, which may be easily andquickly assembled and disassembled, being composed cf a minimum ofparts, and which shall consume very little space when set up as well asin unassembled form, and the various component parts of which deviceshall be interchangeable.

Other and further objects of the invention will provision of a unitarybe apparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawings andfollowing specication.

The invention, in a preferred form, is illustrated in the drawings andhereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of one of the devices of this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional View takenon the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of a modiiied form of the device shown inFigures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a side elevation illustrating a further modied form of thedevice shown in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Figure 6 is a front elevation of a combination display apparatusembodying the present invention, parts being broken away and other partsbeing shown in section for purposes of clarity.

Figure is a fro-nt elevation of a slightly modied form of the apparatusshown in Figure 6.

Figure 3 is a perspective view illustrating another form of combinationdisplay apparatus embodying this invention.

Figure 9 is a perspective View illustrating a typical use of theapparatus shown in Figure 8.

As shown in the drawings:

Referring to Figures l to 4, inclusive, the reference numeral lilindicates generally a form of at supporting table, preferably formed ofmetal, its flat surface being preferably elliptical, the edge thereofbeing turned downwardly to form an annular flange l2, which in turn isbent outwardly to form a secondary horizontally disposed annular angeI4. The table lll just described is of a form particularly intended forsupporting hats or similar objects, the flange l2 being straight incross section and flared to conform with the inner face of the crownportion of a hat to support and keep in shape such crown portion, whilethe secondary flange Ill forms a stop whereupon the brim of the hat mayrest,

The table l0 is securely but removably attached to a form of uprightmember or supporting pedestal I6 preferably flat in cross-section, thelower end of which may be bent into the shape of a spring clamp IBwhereby the same may be secured to and rigidly supported over the edgeof a shelf or other flat element 2t, as best shown in Figure 2.Obviously the saine form of device is equally adaptable for attachmentto other supporting objects, such as a vertically disposed door edge, byslightly modifying the shape of the member I6, and the table I may be ofany other suitable shape for accommodation of other objects in formiitting relationship or otherwise, the particular shape heretoforedescribed being merely illustrative of one mode of use of the invention.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the table I0 is rendered rotatable andtiltable by the interpositioning of a ball-type swivel member 22 or thelike between the members I0 and I6, the same being attached at its upperend to the table I6 by means of a screw 24 passing through a suitableopening 26 in the recessed portion 28 of the table IIJ and thence into asuitably screw threaded opening in the upper at face of the swivelmember 22, the lower or ball portion of the swivel being attached to themember I6 by means of a second screw 30 passing upward through anopening 32 in the upper end of the pedestal member I6 and thence intothe interiorly screw threaded opening provided in the swivel ball 34.Therefore the swivel joint 22 is readily removable in the event completerigidity of the table I6 is desired, in which event the members I' andI6 can be directly joined by some conventional means, such as one of thescrews 24 or 30, which may then be tightened by means of a suitable nutor the like (not shown).

A method of accomplishing the latter result without the necessity ofemploying screws or other separate parts is shown in Figures 3 and 4,wherein the element I0 is recessed and cut at two opposite points alongthe bend to form a pair of slits 36, which are slightly wider than theelement I6, the upper bent portion of the member I6 being simplyinserted through the slits 36, thus providing for satisfactorysupporting of the table I6 by the pedestal member` I6.

However, in order to prevent accidental disconnection of the members I0and I6 during handling while the device remains in set-up position, wehave formed the slits 36 in V-shape to provide a pair of pointed tongues38 in the depressed section of the recess 28. One of these tongues isadapted to slide into registration with the opening 32 in the member I6,whereupon moderate pressure applied against the tongue 38 from the underside will force said tongue to bend over and cause its point to moveinto the opening 32 in locking relationship (Figures 3 and 4), thuseffectively preventing the two parts from slipping and becomingdisconnected. When it is desired to again disconnect these parts, slightpressure applied against the bent tongue from above will again renderthe parts slidable and easy to take apart.

In Figure 5 the same type of device hereinbefore described is shown inslightly modified form, namely, as a xture for more or less per- Inanentinstallation against a supporting object 40, the lower portion of thesupport I6 being bent into the shape of a bracket 42 having a verticallydisposed drilled end portion 44 whereby the same may be fastened to theobject 40 by means of screws or the like 46. In this modication thetable may obviously be joined to the member I6 by either of the methodsshown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, depending on whether or not thetiltable feature is desired.

In Figure 6 a plurality of the supporting tables 48-56-52 similar` tothe table I0 are equipped with swivel joints 54 similar to the swivels22, and are mounted upon and secured to upright members 56, 58, 60, theends of which are exteriorly screw threaded and adapted to engagesimilarly threaded openings in the lower portion or ball of the upperswivels 54 in the same manner as the screw 30 of Figures 1 and 2,previously described. The lower threaded ends of the members 56, 58, 60are secured to a base 62 in similar manner by means of inverted swiveljoints 64, which are, in turn, secured to the base 62 by the screws 66,the swivels 64, of course, being preferably identical in every respectwith the swivels 22 previously described. With this arrangement, theseveral tables may be adjusted at any angle desired with respect to eachother. The base 62 is adapted to rest on a oor or the like whereblT theentire device in accordance with this modication is self-supporting.

The base 62 is preferably partially hollowed out or otherwise recessedto provide easy access to its screw openings from below, so as tofacilitate the assembling and disassembling processes.

It will be apparent that all three tables 48-59--52 shown in Figure 6thus possess the tiltable feature, and that the interpositioning of theadditional swivels 64 at the base 62 will provide a degree offlexibility which makes it possible for the operator to manipulate eachof the upright members 55-58-60 at more than one point of adjustment toprovide either straight or tilted positions, as desired, independent ofthe adjustment of the tables 48-59-52, so that the merchandise supportedon the latter may be presented in the exact manner and at whatever anglethe display artist deems appropriate. Owing to the swivels 64, theseveral upright members may be adjusted at any angle desired relative toeach other and to the base.

Furthermore, the standards 56, 58, 66 may be furnished in diierentlengths, as shown in Figure 6, in order that the articles displayed maybe positioned at different levels, which is sometimes desirable toeffect more attractive display or to prevent overcrowding at anyparticular point, and these upright members or standards 56, 58, 6 mayalso be provided with ornamental openings 68, 19, 12, which may servemerely for decorative effect or perhaps for display of additionalarticles, or for any other use for which their shapes may be adapted.

As previously explained, the shape or contour of the table members I0,48, 59, 52may be varied throughout a wide range to suit specific uses soas to best accommodate and render most attractive the individualarticles displayed. And because of the interchangeability of the partsit is thus possible to assemble a combinati-on display device, such as,for example, that illustrated in Figure 8, wherein the display device isconstructed with a plurality of standards 'I4-16-18 mounted upon acommon base 80, and wherein each of the standards has mounted thereon anindividually designed object supporting element or fixture, such as forinstance a hat display form 82, a collar and tie display form 84, and ashirt-board 86, each of which may be positioned at a different level, ifdesired, by the use of standards of different lengths, and each standarddirected at a diierent angle, as the situation requires, by adjustmentof the upper swivels 88, 9D, 92 and the lower swivels 94, 96, 98.Additionally, there may be provided a small swinging table or the likeI5() for displaying small articles of accessories, which table may beremovably and adjustably mounted on one of the standards 16 in any wellknown manner and the location thereof regulated by means of a thumbscrew |62 or the like. rIhis table I'G may also be tiltable by means ofa swivel joint 504 similar to those previously described.

An example of the use of the foregoing combination unit is illustratedin Figure 9, wherein one standard supports a collar and tie, anothersupports a hat, and a third standard supports a shirt with tie, whilethe adjustable swinging table ID3 displays an article of jewelry, H34',all displays harmoniously arranged in attractive fashion.

It will further be obvious that the swivel joints may be omitted fromthe base connection if desired, as shown in Figure 7, and the standardslG--IS-l if! threadably mounted directly in the base H2, thus providingfor ixed and rigid positioning of the standards in the base.

Furthermore, the individual standards may, if desirable, be designed soas to be individually adjustable as to length, as illustrated in Figure'7, by forming the same of a combination of collapsible or telescopingelements as shown at |08- Il4, and regulated by a thumb screw or thelike H6.

We have thus provided in a single display apparatus, a series ofinterchangeable elements which may be furnished the user in kit form inany combination desired, and which permits the operator to create andexecute innumerable forms of distinctive displays even in veryrestricted space without the necessity of employing other eXtra types ofequipment.

Furthermore, the types of tiltable fixtures illustrated in Figures 1 to5, inclusive, allow for a maximum display of hats or similar articles ona small shelf or the like, as by their use hats may be displayed inpositions almost equivalent to their standing on end, and many arrangedside by side on a tier of pedestals along a shelf with the tables llltilted so that the objects supported are arranged uniformly in a givendirection.

We claim:

1. A collapsible portable display fixture comprising in combination, arelatively narrow horizontally disposed base element adapted to looselyoccupy a restricted area of flat display space, a plurality of elongatedstandards attached directly to said base, and a merchandise display toppivotally attached to the top of each standard, each of said standardsbeing independently pivoted upon the base and adapted to be swungradially of the base in a relatively wide arc into temporary iixedangular adjustment relative to the base and relative to the otherstandards attached to the said base, whereby numerous articles ofmerchandise of varying shapes and dimensions may be supported in variouspositions and at various angles and levels relatively remote from thebase and from other displayed material so as to avoid crowding ofdisplayed merchandise and present a clear and unobstructed view thereof.

2. A collapsible portable display xture comprising in combination, arelatively narrow horizontally disposed base element adapted to looselyoccupy a restricted area of flat display space, a plurality of elongatedstandards of Varying lengths attached directly to said base, and amerchandise display top pivotally attached to the top of each standard,each of said standards being independently pivoted upon the base andadapted to be swung radially of the base in a relatively wide arc intotemporary fixed angular adjustment relative to the base and relative tothe other standards attached to the said base, whereby numerous ariclesof merchandise of varying shapes and dimensions maxr be supported invarious positions and at various angles and levels relatively remotefrom the base and from other displayed material so as to avoid crowdingof displayed merchandise and present a clear and unobstructed viewthereof.

IVAN L. CARTER. GUY W. DAVIS.

